


Cracking the Oyster, Harvesting Pearls

by InfraVioletUltraRed



Series: From Radish Farmer to the Zora Royal Consort [12]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 22:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14757110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfraVioletUltraRed/pseuds/InfraVioletUltraRed
Summary: Finally, the new generation of the royal family is born!





	Cracking the Oyster, Harvesting Pearls

Only two days had passed since your excursion out into the Domain, but you were getting impatient. Even two days before, the nurses were saying you could deliver your baby at almost any time, but… still nothing.

That is, until you felt a twinge. It was time.

You stumbled your way to the infirmary, where the nurses waited. They bustled around, busying themselves preparing for patients, because they had none. Well, not yet, anyway. It was only mid-morning, surely something would happen.

Something _was_ happening, you reminded yourself; you were in labor.

You arrived at the infirmary puffing a little, a hand on your stomach. One of the nurses, Avena, saw you and immediately knew what was happening. She sent another of the nurses, Relan, off with a quiet “go get the prince. His child is about to be born,” and then fluttered over to you, placing one hand over yours on your stomach, and the other on the small of your back to guide you into the infirmary.

It made sense that a species so dependent on water, so much they slept in it, would also use it to birth their young, but still you were slightly shocked when the nurses prompted you to enter the deep pool they’d led you to, one kept behind a curtain to separate it from the rest of the infirmary. Still, you did as you were told, removing your clothing and sliding into the warm water. It felt good, instantly relaxing your muscles, especially over your tightening belly. It was as you took a deep breath that Relan returned, with Sidon in tow. He knelt next to the pool as Relan, Avena, and a third nurse, Nula, all conferred nearby about how to proceed. You ignored them for the time being, instead lifting a hand from the water to place it on Sidon’s cheek as a greeting.

“I knew as soon as I saw Relan out of the corner of my eye,” he said, placing his hand over yours. He laughed. “Your hands are still so small.”

“Not as small as the baby’s will be,” you retorted.

“That is true. But maybe not for long. Zora grow fast.”

You shrugged and titled your head back, taking another deep breath as you shut your eyes.

“Does it hurt badly, my pearl?”

You shook your head, eyes still closed. “No. At least, not yet. I’m sure it gets worse.”

“Hopefully not by much. The water’s supposed to help.”

Nula came over to the edge of the pool as well. “He’s right. And it _will_ help, don’t worry.” She smiled down at the two of you. “How long between the contractions?” She asked you.

“A few minutes,” you answered. “They’re getting stronger.”

“Hm. You’re actively laboring.” She noted. Standing behind her, Relan nodded.

You looked over at Sidon, and he said, “Then the real work begins now.” You nodded. You held your breath through another contraction.

This continued for a few hours—though you stopped holding your breath through contractions—full of happy chatter, including you and Sidon deciding that it was _still_ too early to choose names. Then, something shifted.

Relan was in the pool with you, monitoring you from below and keeping track of the water’s temperature, so when this shift occurred, she called to Nula and Avena.

“The transition period’s started,” she said, “so we’ve got to get you out of the pool,” she continued, turning to you. Nula and Avena each took one of your arms, Relan grabbed your legs, and together, they lifted you out of the water and onto the ledge seat nearby.

Then came the most intense twenty minutes, of the experience for sure, but possibly of your life—you wished it would all go away, you were panting as you felt awash in the pain of the contractions that _wouldn’t stop coming_ —all the while, the three nurses spiraled around you, making notes to each other, encouraging you, and keeping the time. Sidon was clearly barely keeping it together, seeing you in such pain, though he never let go of your hand, and went back and forth between smoothing your hair and wiping sweat from your brow. His touch, at least, was a little comforting. But it didn’t stop the pain.

But then, the pain _did_ dissipate. Avena was the one to notice that your brow un-furrowed, and you visibly relaxed a little. She took your other hand, bringing you out of your intense focus. “Are you a little better?” She asked, smiling.

You took a deep breath, your inhalation taking a long time, and then you let it out. “I’m fine. What comes next?”

“You should be ready to push soon. Right, Nula?”

Nula called out in agreement from the water in front of you, and everyone sighed.

For a brief moment, there was a burning sensation, but as it went away, you heard a quiet splash. Relan ducked behind Nula, diving into the pool, and she surfaced from the pool with a ruddy pink infant Zora. She held it up and against her chest with one arm as another wave of pressure overtook your senses; the same process repeated, but this time Relan surfaced with a purplish-blue pup in addition.

“Last one,” Nula said as one more wave hit you. Relan came up for the last time with a pure-red pup.

So you hadn’t had a dozen babies like the gossiping Zora thought you would. You’d had three. That had been… more than the one you’d expected, of course, but it was bearable. Probably. You must have mumbled something about that, because Sidon was laughing a little. He seemed unfazed.

Nula cleaned you up while Avena took the three infants from Relan and began to clean them up. It didn’t take long, and Nula climbed out of the pool as Avena came back, handing you and Sidon your three newborns.

Sidon moved closer to you, even more than he already was, to look at your offspring. He was silent, grinning as he looked at them. After a moment, you turned to him, asking, “Thoughts? You’re being quieter than normal.”

“They’re… incredible little things, aren’t they?” You nodded, swallowing a little hiccup. You were trying not to cry. Sidon continued. “One of them is blue, like my father.”

“Yeah…maybe it’s genetic? I don’t know how scale color works, sweetheart. You’d know better than I.”

“It’s not something I ever studied,” he replied. “This is my first experience with it.”

“…hm.” You said. You called over one of the nurses. “What are the pups? Are they all boys, all girls? A mix?”

Avena, who had responded to your call, smiled. “You have two girls and one boy. The girls are the pink one and the indigo one. Are you thinking of names yet? You have time, of course, but…”

You looked between her and Sidon. “What’s traditional?”

Avena thought for a moment. “Well, there are some archaic names that would be pretty if their use was refreshed with the new blood in the royal line… The general rule is two syllables for males, the same or more for girls, and if the name begins with a consonant, it should end with one, too. The rest is… up to you, really.”

“I think Lotus for the boy,” you said to Sidon. “What do you think?”

“I think it works,” he replied. “I think, for the indigo pup, she should be named…” He thought.

“Yes?”

“I’m trying to think through the old names. I was researching it, and I found ones I thought were pretty. Oh, I have it! Etora.”

“That’s nice.” You looked down at her, running a finger along her nose. “Etora. Yeah, I like it. And now, for the little pink princess.” You leaned down, nuzzling her nose with yours. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we named her Pearl?”

“Are there pink pearls?”

“Sometimes, yes,” you replied, “but they’re rare. Would you rather ‘Rose’ or a Zora name? We _did_ already name Lotus after a flower, though…”

Sidon was silent, thinking.

“Well, what about—?”

Sidon cut you off. “No, I like Pearl. But all three of them are my pearls, and you. Not just her.” He smiled.

You laughed. “You have a whole string of pearls now.”

“I suppose I do.”

Nula came over to you, and helped you stand. You took a few shaky steps, and she helped you past the curtain to one of the infirmary beds. You would stay there the rest of the day to recover, you were told.

You were also told that you were allowed visitors. As such, the moment the nurses opened the infirmary to those visitors, a small flood of Zora came in, to crowd around your bed and ask you questions. Mostly it was “can we see the babies?” “how many?” and “what did you name them?” You were about to answer their questions, but first, at the behest of the nurses, the throng of well-wishers had to move back to give you, Sidon, and the pups room to breathe.

When they did, you took a breath and prepared to tell them what they wanted to know, especially the five young Zora at the front of the group who were staring at you wide-eyed as you and Sidon switched who was holding which pups—you were now holding Lotus and Pearl, and he had Etora.

“We had three pups,” you said, “named Lotus, Pearl, and Etora. We’ll be taking them to see their grandfather tomorrow morning, and I hardly think it’d be fair if everyone got to see the pups before he did. He’s the king _and_ their grandfather, after all.”

A sound of annoyance and disappointment rose in the crowd.

“But!” You continued, “I don’t think there would be anything wrong with you coming to see them then, now would there, Sidon?”

He smiled and shrugged, not taking his eyes off Etora. “I guess not.”

“All right.” You smiled, too. “If you’ll excuse us, I’m really tired, and we’d like to spend some more time with the pups alone. See you all tomorrow!” You waved as the group of Zora filed out, calling out congratulations as they left.

The last group to leave was the five little Zora, who looked up at you again, still wide-eyed, and said “Those are pretty names.”


End file.
